Looking for Alaska by John Green

Title: Looking for Alaska

Author: John Green

Publisher: Speak 2008

Genre: Young Adult

Pages: 234

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - NPR Teen; Modern Mrs. Darcy - Banned book

Miles “Pudge” Halter is done with his safe life at home. His whole life has been one big non-event, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave “the Great Perhaps” even more (Francois Rabelais, poet). He heads off to the sometimes crazy and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young. She is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart. Then. . . . After. Nothing is ever the same.

If I had read this book at 15, I imagine that it would have devastated me. Green has a connection to the teenage experience; so much so that is sounds as though he is speaking directly to the reader. I successfully avoided all spoilers for this novel leading to a suspenseful read. Obviously something big happens, but I had no idea what. I was floored when the event happens. I just couldn’t believe it. I will even admit that I teared up. Definitely a great book, especially for those teen readers.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Title: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid

Publisher: Washington Square Press 2017

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 389

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Popsugar - Recommendation

Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

I’ve heard such great things about this book from blogs, podcasts, and articles. I’m so glad that I did pick it up and am joining in this month’s book club discussion about it. I know that Evelyn isn’t supposed to be a great person, but I found that I really really liked her. I loved following her life story through her seven husbands. I loved the big twist that came in the middle of the book. (Although to be fair, I did see it coming; hello foreshadowing!) I especially loved seeing many of the side characters come and go throughout her life. And yet, I’m not totally in love with the ending. The big twist regarding Monique felt a little too contrived for me. I would have preferred to keep the story about Evelyn instead.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Snow Patrol "What If This Is All the Love You Ever Get?"

Somehow I completely forgot about this band… Glad I rediscovered them!

Christmas Bucket List Update #1

Fall is over (at least in my book) and we’re on to Christmas. Time for a new bucket list!

1. Make Christmas Cookies

2. Watch 5 Christmas movies

3. Decorate our new house

4. Make hot cocoa

5. Buy fun candy canes

6. Read “A Christmas Carol”

7. Build a snowman

8. Create snow angels

9. Create a popcorn garland

10. Create paper snowflakes

11. Have a snowball fight

12. Donate to a toy drive ✓ — Q and I dropped off a box of art supplies to CSI’s Substitute Santa drive.

13. Sing Christmas carols

14. Build a gingerbread house

15. Drive around and see the lights

16. Go visit Santa

17. Send out Christmas cards - Almost done!

18. Read 5 Christmas stories - In progress! So far, I’ve read 2 stories set in winter/Christmas.

19. Leave out cookies for Santa

20. Go to Christmas at the zoo

21. See a Christmas performance

22. Buy a special ornament

23. Take a photo of all four boys together

24. Try a new holiday coffee drink

25. Find a new holiday album

Next up on the TBR pile:

Life Right Now #38

On my bedside table: Looking for Alaska by John Green; various Christmas themed romances

On my tv this week: A bit of Stan Against Evil, Riverdale S1, and lots of dinosaurs!

Listening to: I started a new-to-me podcast about infectious diseases called This Podcast Will Kill You and a new podcast about apocalypse books called The Apocalist. Loving both of them!

On the menu for this week:

• Monday - Chicken Corden Blue Dip

• Tuesday - Cheesy Potatoes and Bacon Hash

• Wednesday - Avocado Bruschetta Chicken

• Thursday - Leftovers

• Friday - Apple Cheddar Stuffed Chicken

• Saturday - Beef Tips

• Sunday - Chicken Parmesan

On my to do list: Finish Christmas shopping (just a bit left), get the rest of the Christmas cards sent out, book a hotel for our travels, finish a few craft projects, take more December Daily pictures, and other things I’m forgetting…

Happening this week:

• Monday - Arthur school

• Tuesday - Romp n Roll classes; Girly Book Club Omaha

• Wednesday - Arthur school; Grocery shopping

• Thursday - Visit to Morrill Hall in Lincoln (dinosaurs!!)

• Friday - Arthur school; Jolly Jam at Romp n Roll

• Saturday - Arthur Romp n Roll Pirates Class

• Sunday - Nothing so far

What I am creating: I finished my Christmas cards this past weekend and have started on my December Daily pages. I want to finish out the Family Project Life album before I leave for Indiana on the 21st. I’m currently at Week 41, so I’m shooting for another 8 weeks completed before Christmas. I think I can get this done! I also want to make a few cards using my preorder goodies.

My simple pleasures: Not being super sick (middle of the week sucked), chocolate chip cookies, a bit of crafting time on Saturday, working internet again.

Looking around the house: After the basement flooded again last weekend, we had to haul up everything. Most of it is sitting in piles around the living room. I hope to get that more organized this week.

From the camera: We took a snowy trip to the zoo this past week. At least the jungle building is warm.

Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe by Melissa de la Cruz

Title: Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe

Author: Melissa de la Cruz

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press 2017

Genre: Romance

Pages: 225

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Christmas Spirit Readathon;

Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe from New York Times bestselling author, Melissa de la Cruz, is a sweet, sexy and hilarious gender-swapping, genre-satisfying re-telling, set in contemporary America and featuring one snooty Miss Darcy.

Darcy Fitzwilliam is 29, beautiful, successful, and brilliant. She dates hedge funders and basketball stars and is never without her three cellphones―one for work, one for play, and one to throw at her assistant (just kidding). Darcy’s never fallen in love, never has time for anyone else’s drama, and never goes home for Christmas if she can help it. But when her mother falls ill, she comes home to Pemberley, Ohio, to spend the season with her family.

Her parents throw their annual Christmas bash, where she meets one Luke Bennet, the smart, sardonic slacker son of their neighbor. Luke is 32-years-old and has never left home. He’s a carpenter and makes beautiful furniture, and is content with his simple life. He comes from a family of five brothers, each one less ambitious than the other. When Darcy and Luke fall into bed after too many eggnogs, Darcy thinks it’s just another one night stand. But why can’t she stop thinking of Luke? What is it about him? And can she fall in love, or will her pride and his prejudice against big-city girls stand in their way?

A cute little gender swapped contemporary version of Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice. I immediately loved connecting the the contemporary characters with the ones from the original text. Overall, it was a cute little romance that I sped through in only two days. My only quibble with this book is how horrible Darcy acted at times. I understand her insecurities and misunderstandings, but at times it might have gone a bit too far. She was made out to be far more of a royal bitch than she was. I’m excited that everything turned out in the end (of course it was going to!), but slightly annoyed at a few pages.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Title: The Darkest Minds (Darkest Minds #1)

Author: Alexandra Bracken

Publisher: Disney Hyperion 2012

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Pages: 499

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual (365 Days of YA); Seasonal Series - Audiobook

When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that got her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government "rehabilitation camp." She might have survived the mysterious disease that killed most of America's children, but she and the others emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.
Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

Really disappointed in this book. It felt way too much like YA Dystopia/Apocalypse-lite. The characters were very bland and very predictable. The plot had way too many holes to be believable. And on top of all that, I hate when books don’t explain things and keep everyone in the dark so much that the reader just gets lost. I can’t get behind this one at all…

Darkest Minds:

• #1 The Darkest Minds

• #1.5 In Time

• #2 Never Fade

• #2.5 Sparks Rise

• #3 In the Afterlight

• #3.5 Through the Dark

• #4 The Darkest Legacy

Next up on the TBR pile:

Maybe Some Videos

I would totally watch this mashup movie. (And I’ll definitely be watching the Detective Pikachu movie)

As much as I love the musical version, I may just have to watch this one…

Oh yeah.

Haha

Alaskan Holiday by Debbie Macomber

Title: Alaskan Holiday

Author: Debbie Macomber

Publisher: Ballantine Books 2018

Genre: Romance

Pages: 256

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Christmas Spirit

Before beginning her dream job as sous chef in one of Seattle’s hottest new restaurants, Josie Avery takes a summer position cooking at a lakeside lodge in the remote Alaskan town of Ponder. Josie falls for the rustic charms of the local community—including Jack Corcoran, the crotchety keeper of Ponder’s famed sourdough starter, and, in particular, the quiet and intense Palmer Saxon, a famed master swordsmith.

Josie and Palmer become close during the long Alaskan summer days, but Josie knows that, come fall, she’ll be returning to reality and the career she’s worked so hard for. Palmer, on the other hand, would like nothing better than to make Josie his wife and to keep her in Ponder. But Josie can’t imagine abandoning her mother back in the Emerald City and sacrificing her career to stay in this isolated town—not even for a man she’s quickly coming to love.

I’m usually always up for a Christmas romance story (no matter how cheesy they can be), but this one just didn’t sit right with me. I was bored with the main characters. The side characters, specifically Jack, seemed very silly and one dimensional. You know how this is going to end, but it was just so repetitive. The constant internal questioning of each other’s motives instead of saying something really had me wanting to yell at all the characters. I finished it, but I just don’t think this book was for me…

Next up on the TBR pile:

Hocus Pocus and the All-New Sequel by A.W. Jantha and Matt Griffin

Title: Hocus Pocus and the All-New Sequel

Author: A.W. Jantha and Matt Griffin

Publisher: Freeform 2018

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Pages: 528

Stars: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Seasonal Series - PoC Characters

Hocus Pocus is beloved by Halloween enthusiasts all over the world. Diving once more into the world of witches, this electrifying two-part young adult novel, released on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the 1993 film, marks a new era of Hocus Pocus. Fans will be spellbound by a fresh retelling of the original film, followed by the all-new sequel that continues the story with the next generation of Salem teens.

The book club selection for my newly created club. So I have a bit of mixed feelings about this one. I love love love the movie and by extension I really enjoyed the novelization of the movie that is the first half of this volume. I loved pictured the Sanderson sister running amok on the streets of Salem. I loved the little extra scenes that added into the story from Winnie’s perspective. I really enjoyed the first half. And then we get to the second half and things aren’t quite as good. It wasn’t the storyline or the characters. (Although at times I hoped the characters would act a bit more immature than they were portrayed) What really disappointed me was the first person narration. It was very jarring from the first half of the book. In addition, first person narration often feels very lazy and trite. I just didn’t love Poppy’s voice at all. I was still excited to see the Sanderson sisters, meet their fourth sister, and even meet their mother.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Clean Bandit feat. Marina and Luis Fonsi "Baby"

This song is so infectious!

Christmas Spirit Update #1

I didn’t start my Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge until December 1st, so not much to report. I did pick up Debbie Macomber’s newest holiday novel, Alaskan Holiday. I started with that yesterday.

My Goals:

• Read 6 Christmas related books

• Review all books read

• Watch 5 Christmas movies

My TBR:

• Alaskan Holiday by Debbie Macomber

• Married for Christmas by Noelle Adams

• A Family for Christmas by Noelle Adams

• Christmas with You by Tracey Alvarez

• Christmas Lovebirds by Rachelle Ayala

• Christmas Light by Jolyse Barnett

• Christmas with the Black Sheep by Natalie Nicole Bates

• Once Upon a Royal Christmas by Robin Bielman

• A Match Made at Christmas by Patty Blount

• A Pirate for Christmas by Anna Campbell

• Her Christmas Bonus by Rain Danvers

• A Kiss of Christmas by Jillian Eaton

• Santa Baby, I Want a Bad Boy for Christmas by Justine Elvira

• My Christmas Curse by Joan Gable

• The Christmas Bargain by Shanna Hatfield

• A Cotswold Christmas by Kate Hewitt

• Melody’s Christmas by ID Johnson

• Once Upon a Christmas by Lisa Plumley

• A Christmas Gift by Stella Wilkinson

• A Town Called Christmas by Stella Wilkinson

December 2018 Life Goals

Let’s check in on November's goals and my progress.

• Fix the master bedroom — Success! We got the furniture sorted out and clothes put away.

• Layout my TBR for the end of the year / start brainstorming reading challenges — Success! I’ve got the books I still want to read this year laid out. And I started working on my 2019 RCs.

• Join/register preschool, gym, and library — Success! Arthur started preschool at the beginning of the month and we joined both a gym and the library.

• Buy some new jeans and key fall pieces — Success! I found two pairs of jeans I like and a few tops/sweaters for winter. Really would like some new boots still…

December's Goals: Just a small list as I really want to savor the holidays.

• Finish clearing out the kitchen and living room - We have some weird odds and ends hanging out. I want to get them put away before going to Indiana for Christmas.

• Read 15 books (including 5 Christmas themed) - Hoping to finish off strong. I have a good list of options for the Christmas reads and a set list for some of the regular reads.

• January Blog Drafts - I like to have these prepped before the new year starts.

• Enjoy the holidays! - Including lots of items off our bucket lists and slowing down to savor the time.

Next up on the TBR list:

Fall Bucket List Finish Line

Another season, another bucket list. I kicked butt on our California items, but faltered when it came to the Midwest items. Life just got in the way. Moving was a bit more complicated than I anticipated and we’ve taken longer to get settled. Hoping my Christmas goals actually get accomplished!

California (8/10):

1. Visit Rocket Fizz ✓

2. Take a Ferry Ride to San Francisco ✓

3. Have a Beach Day ✓

4. Enjoy my Retreat Weekend! ✓

5. Celebrate Arthur and Quentin's Birthdays! ✓

6. Visit Children's Fairyland ✓

7. Visit Children's Creativity Museum

8. Eat at Black Bear

9. Buy pie in Guerneville ✓

10. Have one more pool party ✓

Midwest (9/19):

1. Visit Fort Wayne Zoo ✓

2. Visit Science Central ✓

3. Visit Omaha Zoo ✓

4. Visit Omaha Children's Museum ✓

5. Get a new library card - But of course! And we’ve already checked out a ton of books. ✓

6. Find a good park

7. Go see a movie in the theater ✓

8. Go to Vala's Pumpkin Festival ✓

9. Eat at Coney Island

10. Travel to OBM Sparkle Party in Iowa City - Sadly I ended up not being able to go…

11. Find a good indie bookstore

12. Visit the comic books store

13. Find a good brunch place (Wheatfields?)

14. Have dinner with a friend alone

15. Join a new parent group

16. Join a book club ✓

17. Get my crafty business started ✓

18. Go to Fort Wayne for Thanksgiving

19. Create a fall signature cocktail

Next up on the TBR pile: